Riding

My riding has been getting a lot better, but still SO far off of where I'd like to be.  The idea of racing next year has some appeal to it, but I'm hesitant to commit at this point due to 1) all the potential conflicts in our already jam-packed calendars 2) I need to keep training this winter at least as much as I am now.  Excuse #1 is more of a frustration point.  I love the boys doing their sports and everything, but sometimes it makes it difficult to commit to any other type of weekend activity, at least consistently.

I'm trying to ride 3x a week for at least 50 miles.  That's baby stuff for a racer, but some weeks it's tough for me to fit that in.  I just need to be more creative with how I fit my workouts in.  Speaking of workouts, I really need to start hitting some weights and core training.  I remember when I used to race, and even now, the first thing that gets tired is my core.  I can feel the issue starting when more weight starts getting supported by my hands/arms/shoulders, then my shoulders get tense, then my lower back and hips start getting tired/locking up, then there's no power.  It should be easy enough to fix, or at least make better, given what poor shape those muscles are in that they should train up pretty quickly.  I think even if I stick to riding hard 3x a week, plus train up my core and supporting muscles, I'll be a better racer than ever before (that's not saying too much, but still).

I've been reading Shannon Sovndahl's book, Cycling Anatomy.  It's a good read, with enough detail to be educated without going too deep into the weeds.  There's some good exercises in there I hadn't seen before and am anxious to try.  First workout is tonight, so that's exciting.

That's it for now, more later.